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I’m going teach you an organic way of increasing your Twitter followers – no auto-follow techniques, no shortcuts.

When you start using automated tools to follow people, you don’t know who you’re following. They could be automated feeds/bots.

Be picky about who you follow. It’s NOT about the quanTITY, but the quaLITY.

These tips assume you know how to navigate well on Twitter and have advanced knowledge of the lingo and terminology. If you need some start-up help with Twitter, check out this link: http://mashable.com/guidebook/twitter/.

After you’ve added a whole mess of people, go back and click on their profiles to make sure that the people you’re following are (a) active on Twitter and that they (b) actually engage with people – their account isn’t merely an automated feed.

(2) How to get people to follow you back?

So you’ve followed all these people – now what? How are they going to follow you back?

Here are a few sure-fire ways to get people to follow you back.

RT a few of their links to start appearing in their @stream.

Add them to a List.

Send them a direct @reply complimenting them on their website, work, picture, bio – pick something you like and make a mention of it. Start a conversation.

If all else fails, send them a @reply jumping up and down, waving your arms in the air like you just don’t care. It works.

EXTRAS:

Make sure you’re using a picture as an avatar. Show your face. This will increase your chances of actual people following you back. Logos don’t get the same action as a face does on Twitter (or any other social media platform, for that matter). Personalize your account by showing people you’re real.

Every once in a while I will check out http://friendorfollow.com/ and unfollow anybody who hasn’t followed back. (I get like that from time to time.)

Once a month, I’ll add 200 – 300 people and go through this very process of engaging with people on Twitter to increase my following. It works – it just takes time. Take your time. This isn’t a numbers game like so many people have made it out to be. It’s about connecting with one another and building relationships that are both personal and professional in nature.

As Social Media gains popularity, we start to see newfangled ways of automating an online presence and creating short cuts to maintaining a virtual existence.

While automation may have a small role in our online strategies, it’s important to remember that good manners and common courtesy have more to do with a thriving online presence than scheduled tweets and automated blogs posts.

Here are four extremely simple points to keep in mind when building your own online presence:

Reciprocity.The heart and soul of social media is the act of reciprocity. If someone says hello to you, take a moment to say hello back. If someone retweets one of your tweets, return the favor. Respond to those who initiate communication with you and do it promptly. It seems simple enough, but you’d be surprised how few people actually take a moment to give back. The art of reciprocity will help you develop relationships with your online community.

Respect. Think twice about sending automatic direct messages. It’s disingenuous and downright tacky. Instead, think about sending a personalized message manually and leave out the business details, allowing people to get to know you first. If Friends and Followers sign up for your newsletter, make sure that you’re not inundating them with emails. We all get a lot of emails and the last thing you need is to get five emails in one day. Time your emails in a way that won’t be perceived as spam.

Courtesy. Without a doubt, a simple ‘thank you’ can go a long way. Take a moment to thank people for posting to your Wall, retweeting your links, and commenting on your Page. Acknowledging people and showing appreciation is the best marketing tool to date. If you want people to continue engaging with you, it’s important to acknowledge them and interact with them on a one-to-one basis.

Consideration. Wish people a happy birthday. Ask people how they are doing. Post links to your friends’ Walls that they might find interesting without any regard to business. Be friendly and help others without thinking about the bottom line. Business will come from these simple gestures. Be consistent and take a genuine interest in people. They don’t call it Social Media for nothing.

We worry that IM, texting, Facebook are spoiling human intimacy, but Stefana Broadbent’s research shows how communication tech is capable of cultivating deeper relationships, bringing love across barriers like distance and workplace rules.

If you’re using Facebook and Twitter to generate leads for your business, it’s easy to experience —what I affectionately call— virtual overwhelm.

I’ve developed a valuable e-report called YOUR 15-MINUTES-A-DAY MAINTENANCE FORMULA. This step by step guide will show you how to effectively network on a daily basis in order to sustain your online momentum.

Social Networking doesn’t have to take up your entire day in order for you to reap the benefits.

Let me show you how I maintain my online momentum and generate weekly inquiries using this simple formula.

When was the last time you used the Yellow Pages to find a local business?

Nowadays, people are using the Internet to find what they’re looking for; making the phone book almost obsolete.

If you’re a local business owner and you’re trying to figure out how to utilize Social Media, I’ve created this short list of Social Networking accounts you should include in your overall marketing strategy to help potential customers find you.

1. GOOGLE MAPS. With the majority of the people using Google to find what they’re looking for, it would only make sense to list your business on GOOGLE MAPS. Sign up for an account and get your business listed within 24 hours. Take the time to upload a few pictures and, if you have them, a couple of your videos. Spend a few moments to fill out your profile in its entirety.

3. FACEBOOK PAGE. Your business Page on Facebook gets indexed on Google. This means that, in many cases, your Page will rise up farther on Google than your own website. My Page on Facebook drives almost all of my business.

If you don’t have a Facebook account, you’ll need to create one before you can create a Page. If you need help setting up your profile, check out my QUICK SET UP GUIDE for Facebook Profiles: http://acumenva.com/e-products/. If you already have a Facebook account but need help setting up your Page, check out this link for details: Creating and Optimizing Your Facebook Page.

Pick optimum keywords when naming your Page. You can name it after yourself: First and Last Name. You can name your Page after your product. You can have multiple Pages, if you wish. (I recommend one and focusing all of your attention on it.)

Think about what people will type into a search engine when they attempt to find you. I recommend running a search within Facebook AND on Google to see if any of your competitors show up and what keywords they’re using in their Page titles.

Don’t be surprised if you don’t find any Pages in your search. Business owners are JUST starting to realize the significance of Pages for search engine purposes.

4. TWITTER. If you’re currently using Twitter, than you already know the power of micro-blogging and its ability to connect people from around the world. If you’re not on Twitter and you want to find out what the fuss is about, I recommend jumping on board. Here’s a link to help you do so: http://mashable.com/guidebook/twitter/.

Once you’re set up and ready to go, if you want to use Twitter to help promote your local business, here are some applications that will help you find potential customers in your area: http://twitter.pbworks.com/Apps.

Scroll down to Directories to find these links below. Take a moment to create a few accounts on the applications you like the most.

Once you’ve had a chance to connect with locals on Twitter, eventually, you’ll have an opportunity to meet up with them in person. We call those “TweetUps”. This is a great way to establish a growing connection with other like-minded business owners in your area.

While not everyone will become a customer, they can become, what I lovingly call, “referral machines,” referring you onto people who might need your services.

– – –

Social Networking success comes from consistent maintenance. If you haven’t already done so, sign up for my newsletter at the top of my homepage and you’ll receive my once-a-month newsletter filled with tips and suggestions on how to maintain your online energy.

Stick with it and you’ll see business opportunities increase by engaging others through the use of Social Media. It’s not a fad. It’s here to stay and with more and more people using the Internet to find what they’re looking for, it’s the perfect time to jump on board.

If you like the idea of using symbols in your posts (and you have a PC), take a peek at this link and it’ll show you how to use ALT codes: http://su.pr/1zr2yI.

If you’re a Mac user, you can still use these symbols, you’ll just have to copy and paste them, instead of using keyboard commands.

To obtain an ALT Character:
1. Make certain that the Num Lock key has been pressed to activate the numeric key section of the keyboard.
2. Depress the Alt key.
3. While the Alt key is depressed, type the proper sequence of numbers (on the numeric keypad) of the ALT code from the table above.
4. Release the ALT key and the character will appear.

Voilà!

If your keyboard doesn’t have NUM LOCK on the keypad, check out this link for a possible solution: http://bit.ly/1vSFIy.

It’s an unfortunate downside to the Social Networking world and I’m seeing more and more of it lately.

But take heart!

There’s something that can be done about it NOW.

Does it surprise me that someone would come along and scoop up the StartupNation Twitter handle?

Nope, not at all.

The good people over on SuN didn’t see a use for Twitter at the time and didn’t register an account in their name.

They can say that their Twitter handle got ripped off, when in reality someone else beat them to the punch.

Yes, yes…in SuN’s particular case, the cybersquatter asked for $15,000.00 in return for the account (CLEARLY in bad taste).

The good news for Rich and SuN is that they had a trademark on their name, enabling them to claim the account legally.

But for the rest of us who don’t have legal trademarks on our business names (or real names) for that matter, it’s important to make sure to sign up (across the board) for the name you want to brand (even if you don’t plan on using that profile right now).

If you’re using Social Networking for professional purposes, I recommend using one account name and one avatar across the board for branding purposes.

**TIP** Use your First Name capitalized and then your Last Name capitalized (i.e., MiaChambers). DON’T use your business name as your profile name or your logo as your avatar. Be a person first and stand in front of your business. **

Take a look at this website to help you determine if your username is being used on other sites: http://knowem.com/.